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Overnight News Digest March 5, 2023 [1]

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Date: 2023-03-05

Tomorrow's News Today

Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw. OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.

BBC

China boosts military budget while warning of escalating threats

China will increase military spending by more than 7% this year, while warning of "escalating" threats. It was announced at the National People's Congress (NPC), a rubber-stamp parliament, which is due to confirm President Xi Jinping's third term. Beijing's military budget - around $225bn (£186bn) - is still dwarfed by that of the United States, which is four times greater. But analysts believe China downplays how much it spends on defence. Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang told the NPC that "external attempts to suppress and contain China are escalating". "The armed forces should intensify military training and preparedness across the board," he said. It was also announced at the meeting that China would pursue a reduced economic growth target of about 5% this year.

The Guardian

Estonia’s PM, Kaja Kallas, secures election win with pro-Ukraine stance

The Reform party of Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, secured first place in Sunday’s parliamentary election, a result that should ensure Tallinn remains one of Europe’s most staunchly pro-Ukraine governments. Results with 98% ballots counted showed the far-right EKRE party in second place, with 16.1% versus 31.5% for Kallas’ liberal group, reflecting concerns among some voters over the rising cost of living in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If Kallas, 45, succeeds in crafting a functioning coalition, it would cement the Baltic nation’s pro-European direction. Estonia, a western neighbour of Russia with a population of 1.3 million, would also stay on course to adopt more green energy and continue to accept refugees from Ukraine.

The Guardian

Huge fire at Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh leaves thousands without shelter

Huge fire at Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh leaves thousands without shelter The blaze erupted in Cox’s Bazar where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, most after fleeing a military-led crackdown in Myanma A massive fire raced through a crammed refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims in southern Bangladesh on Sunday, leaving thousands homeless, officials said. The blaze erupted at Camp 11 in Cox’s Bazar, a southeastern border district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live. Most of the refugees fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, and the fire left some of them homeless again. The fire rapidly engulfed the bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters, Mijanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner, told AFP. “Some 2,000 shelters have been burnt, leaving about 12,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals shelterless,” he said. Rafiqul Islam, additional police superintendent at Cox’s Bazar told Reuters: “We currently don’t have an estimate for damages but there are no reports of casualties.”

Al Jazeera

Britain prepares to unveil new powers to ‘stop the boats’

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said asylum seekers arriving in Britain on small boats through the English Channel will be prevented from staying. Under pressure from his own lawmakers to find stop the arrival of asylum seekers in Britain, Sunak has made stopping small boats one of his five key priorities. “Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” Sunak told the Mail on Sunday ahead of new legislation, promised as part of government efforts to tackle undocumented migration, could come as soon as Tuesday. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that the only way into Britain would be a “safe and legal route”. Sunak said the new powers are a step towards fulfilling his pledge to “stop the boats once and for all”. “Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade,” he added. “I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats.”

Reuters

Wagner chief says Russian position at Bakhmut at risk without promised ammunition tough shit

KYIV, March 6 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force warned that Russia's position around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was in peril unless his troops got ammunition, the latest sign of tension between the Kremlin and the private militia chief. Ukrainian military officials and analysts also reported leaders of Russia's 155th Brigade fighting near the town of Vuhledar, south of Bakhmut, were resisting orders to attack after sustaining severe losses in attempts to capture it. For its part, the Russian Defence Ministry on Sunday said Russian forces had hit a command centre of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment in southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. The ministry did not elaborate on the attack. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Russia's front lines near Bakhmut would could collapse if his forces did not receive the ammunition promised by Moscow in February.

Deutsche Welle

US: Norfolk Southern freight train derails again in Ohio

Officials in the US state of Ohio informed the public there is no safety risk to public health following the latest derailment of a Norfolk Southern cargo train between Dayton and Columbus. It is the second time the company's freight trains have derailed in the state in the last month. Roughly 20 of the 212 cars on the southbound train derailed at 4:45 p.m. local time Saturday (2145 GMT/UTC) near a business park in Springfield Township. The accident site is near the Clark County fairgrounds and is approximately 46 miles (74 kilometers) west of Columbus, the capital of the state of Ohio. Residents who lived within 1,000 feet of the site were ordered to shelter in place as firefighters and a county hazardous materials team was deployed in the area as a precaution. By early Sunday, officials said the threat to the public was nil and there was "no indication of any injuries."

Reuters

Pakistan: Drug firms head for closure amid economic crisis

A pharmaceutical crisis in Pakistan is heating up amid a delay in releasing crucial bailout funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the tune of $1.1 billion (€1.03 billion). Medicine production in the South Asian nation has plunged by 21.5% in recent months — mainly due to the prolonged refusal of commercial banks to facilitate the import of raw materials. Syed Farooq Bukhari, chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, told DW that the banks resumed issuing letters of credit (LCs) in January this year as a formal guarantee to pay for imports. But in light of low foreign exchange reserves, the banks only granted around 50% of requests for the documents, which are issued to goods importers guaranteeing payment within a fixed period. Bukhari pointed out that granting 50% of LC requests results in "medicine shortages as well as hoarding by wholesalers and retailers." Officials blame the LC problem on the country's alarmingly low foreign exchange reserves and insist that it will last until the IMF released the $1.1 billion bailout tranche.

Buzzfeed News

A Florida Man Died Of A Brain-Eating Amoeba And Residents Are Being Warned To Use Caution With Tap Water

Florida health officials are warning residents of Charlotte County to use caution when swimming and washing their faces and to avoid using unsterilized tap water for nasal irrigation after a local man died of a brain-eating amoeba infection. They asked residents to avoid getting water in their noses when showering or swimming and to not allow children to play unsupervised with hoses, sprinklers, or during any other activity that would allow water to squirt up their noses. The Florida Department of Health stressed that you cannot be infected with the organism, called Naegleria fowleri, by drinking tap water. The amoeba causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is almost always fatal. The health officials issued the warning on Feb. 23 and haven’t released more details about the patient who died. News outlets have reported that the patient was a man who rinsed his sinuses daily with unboiled tap water.

Washington Post

Paul Manafort agrees to pay $3.15 million to settle with Justice Dept.

Paul J. Manafort, a longtime fixture in Republican politics who briefly managed Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a civil case brought by the Justice Department last year over foreign bank accounts that he did not declare to United States officials, according to his lawyer and court documents. Jeffrey Neiman, a lawyer for Manafort, confirmed the settlement in a brief telephone interview on Sunday and said his client “is happy to have this chapter of his life behind him.” The settlement was announced in paperwork dated Feb. 22 and filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida where Manafort resides. It was reported Saturday by the Florida Bulldog, a nonprofit website.

Note from editor: Looks like my covid symptoms are still here; Paxlovid rebound. So I’ll schedule this and go to bed. Thank y’all.

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